In memoriam: Peter Rony, Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering

Peter Rony, Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering at Virginia Tech, passed away in Holly Springs, North Carolina, on Sept. 20, 2019. He was 80 years old.

Rony earned a bachelor's in chemical engineering from Caltech in 1959 and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1965. He worked at Monsanto and Exxon before becoming a chemical engineering faculty member at Virginia Tech in 1971 where he later retired in 2002. 

During his professional career, Rony was a longtime essential member of AIChE Process Systems Division. Rony was also the editor for IEEE Micro, the editor of the Computing and Systems Technology Division Communications, and a trustee of Computer Aids for Chemical Engineering Education.

Rony was a pioneering author on the subject of microcomputer interfacing and the author/originator of the popular "Bugbook" series at the beginning of the personal computer revolution. These landmark books taught a wide range of individuals, college students, high school students, scientists, engineers, hobbyists, and medical doctors how to use digital electronic integrated circuits, and both the 8080A and Z80 microprocessors. The "Bugbook" series was published in several languages.

For more information, see the complete obituary.

— Written by Tina Russell